Joe Pittman, starting at third base in place of injured Art Howe, went 3-for-3 including a triple that drove home the game's only run as the Astros blanked the Padres, 1-0, behind combined five-hit pitching from Nolan Ryan and Joe Sambito. Alan Ashby singled with one out in the seventh stanza and Pittman followed with his three-bagger. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 1, San Diego Padres 0

Game Played on Tuesday, May 26, 1981 (Night game) at Astrodome

Padres 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 1 Astros 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 x - 1 6 0 Padres AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Smith ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 .246 Puhl rf 4 0 1 0 0 3 .247 Jones cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .222 Reynolds ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 .250 Richards lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .266 Cedeno cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .301 Perkins 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .342 Cruz lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .267 Kennedy c 3 0 1 0 1 1 .313 Walling 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .197 Edwards pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .108 Ashby c 3 1 1 0 0 0 .255 Lefebvre rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .231 Pittman 3b 3 0 3 1 0 0 .400 Evans ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Landestoy 2b 2 0 1 0 0 0 .164 Bonilla 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .288 Howe ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .365 Salazar 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .270 Sambito p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Eichelberger p 3 0 0 0 0 3 .150 Ryan p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .158 Lucas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 Heep ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222 Thon pr,2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Totals 29 0 5 0 4 6 Totals 29 1 6 1 1 7 Time of Game: 2:23 Attendance: 17,709 Left on Base: Padres 7, Astros 6 DP: Padres 0, Astros 1 Errors: Eichelberger Triples: Pittman (1) Stolen Bases: Salazar (2), Pittman (1) Caught Stealing: Jones (6) Sacrifice Hits: Evans (1), Reynolds (11) Padres IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Eichelberger L(4-3) 6.2 6 1 1 1 5 0 27 3.15 Lucas 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 2.56 Totals 8 6 1 1 1 7 0 31 Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Ryan W(4-2) 7 4 0 0 4 6 0 27 0.98 Sambito SV(5) 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 1.69 Totals 9 5 0 0 4 6 0 34 Umpires: HP - Dave Pallone, 1B - Paul Pryor, 2B - Charlie Williams, 3B - John McSherry PADRES 1ST: Smith grounded out (pitcher to first); Jones walked; Jones was caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); Richards singled to third; Perkins grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 1ST: Puhl was called out on strikes; Reynolds flied out to right; Cedeno flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. PADRES 2ND: Kennedy flied out to left; Lefebvre grounded out (shortstop to first); Bonilla popped to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 2ND: Cruz grounded out (second to first); Walling struck out; Ashby flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. PADRES 3RD: Salazar grounded out (shortstop to first); Eichelberger struck out; Smith walked; Jones singled to center [Smith to second]; Richards walked [Smith to third, Jones to second]; Perkins struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 3RD: Pittman singled to second; Pittman stole second [Pittman to third (error by Eichelberger)]; Landestoy made an out to third; Ryan flied out to right; Puhl struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. PADRES 4TH: Kennedy struck out; Lefebvre lined to first; Bonilla lined to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 4TH: Reynolds struck out; Cedeno popped to catcher; Cruz popped to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. PADRES 5TH: Salazar singled to left; Eichelberger struck out; Smith hit into a double play (left to first) [Salazar out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 5TH: Walling flied out to right; Ashby flied out to right; Pittman singled to shortstop; Landestoy singled to center [Pittman to third]; Ryan struck out; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. PADRES 6TH: Jones was called out on strikes; Richards flied out to left; Perkins flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 6TH: Puhl singled to center; Reynolds out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Puhl to second]; Cedeno made an out to shortstop; Cruz flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. PADRES 7TH: Kennedy walked; Lefebvre singled to third [Kennedy to second]; Bonilla forced Kennedy (pitcher to third) [Lefebvre to second]; Salazar forced Bonilla (shortstop unassisted) [Lefebvre to third]; Salazar stole second; Eichelberger struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 7TH: Walling made an out to shortstop; Ashby singled to right; Pittman tripled to center [Ashby scored]; HOWE BATTED FOR LANDESTOY; Howe flied out to right; HEEP BATTED FOR RYAN; Heep walked; THON RAN FOR HEEP; LUCAS REPLACED EICHELBERGER (PITCHING); Puhl struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 1. PADRES 8TH: SAMBITO REPLACED HOWE (PITCHING); THON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B); Smith grounded out (catcher to first); Jones flied out to center; Richards grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 1. ASTROS 8TH: Reynolds flied out to right; Cedeno struck out; Cruz lined to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 1. PADRES 9TH: Perkins flied out to left; Kennedy singled to left; EDWARDS RAN FOR KENNEDY; EVANS BATTED FOR LEFEBVRE; Evans out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Edwards to second]; Bonilla flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Padres 0, Astros 1.

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